Those comments came after Uribe did this (not to mention him hitting three bombs):

So naturally it got me thinking about Uribe’s place in the Gold Glove standings. When I looked at guys statistically at the top, Nolan Arenado, Chase Headley, and David Wright were all included (with Todd Frazier as the other), but Uribe was right there as well.

So statistically speaking, there’s a pretty clear gap between one and two, and two and the rest.

Because of sample size issues, you may also want to look at their histories. Arenado has none (rookie), Uribe is career +20 DRS and +34.5 UZR at 3B, Frazier is +10 DRS and +13.3 UZR, Headley is +17 DRS and +28.6 UZR, and Wright is -11 DRS and -7.6 UZR. So all of them have a track record of success except the rookie and Wright. In Wright’s case, though, he did make a significant leap forward across the board last year, so his 2013 figures appear legit as well.

For Arenado, he’s my 2013 NL Gold Glove winner despite the lack of track record. He clearly leads across the board according to the statistics, as he’s the only player to post plus-plus defensive value on every metric. But besides that, I also watch a lot of baseball, both because I love it and because I review plays/highlights for GIFS and what not. As such, I’ve got to watch these guys a bunch, and Arenado is the only one that appears consistently making a variety of different plus defensive highlights. Combine all of that together and it’ll be hard to put me off the position that he deserves the award.

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That said, it doesn’t need to diminish what Uribe has accomplished, as there’s a legit case for him to be in the Gold Glove conversation. In fact, I think he’s a clear second to Arenado.

More importantly, this conversation highlights what an incredible value his resurgence in 2013 has been to the team after Luis Cruz and the utility super friends couldn’t produce. That statistical value — along with what he’s meant to Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez and everybody else in the clubhouse — even has me wanting a short-term extension for Uribe given the dearth of options out there at third next year.

The fact that I’m able to say that considering my dislike for him coming into the year after two putrid campaigns with the Dodgers just goes to show how far he’s come in such a short time.

Coming off of a 2009 season full of late-game heroics, 2010 and beyond appeared to hold great promise offensively for Andre Ethier. However, a pinkie injury in ’10 followed by a knee injury last season – along with any existing offensive flaws and limitations that remained – threw a wrench in his plans. Limited to 139 and 135 games over the past two seasons, respectively, questions regarding attitude, desire, and his long-term future with the club have arisen and plagued the right fielder.

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Before we tackle the numbers, let me address those lingering questions involving intangibles, makeup, and the surly personality of Dre.

I couldn’t sincerely care infinitesimally less if Ethier is not the most pleasant athlete to be around. It does not matter one iota to me whether he wants to play with his college buddyDustin Pedroia in the future, or even in the present for that matter. One thing, and one thing only, concerns me in my assessment of Ethier: is he going to produce enough to protect Matt Kemp and justify still being on this team?

Will Andre hit lefties at all? Will his fielding not be terrible (last year’s phony Gold Glove Award aside)? Will he ever post a WAR over 3.5? Can he stay healthy after battling multiple injuries over the last few seasons?

These are the things that give me pause with Ethier, the other stuff is just the icing on the cake of concern.

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2011 saw Ethier continue to flail at the plate against left-handers, putting up a line of .220/.258/.305/.563 with a 41/7 K/BB mark and just one long ball. In the field, Andre posted a 6.8 UZR/150, which was his best showing since 2007, which he then followed with three straight years of not just negative, but double-digit negative UZR/150s.

Dre’s overall slash line in ’11 checked in at .292/.368/.421/.789 with a .343 wOBA, and certainly some of that can be attributed to the knee injury he was dealing with. That being said, a 2.9 WAR (and never higher than his 2008 mark of 3.5) simply will not cut it for a guy entering his decline phase who is set to make just under $11 million this season as he settles into the cleanup spot behind The Bison and heads towards free agency in the winter.

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The question we should all be asking is what would the return on Andre be should he be sent packing on or before the trade deadline, as I think that would be the best contribution he could make to the Dodgers going forward. Selling low on him would be one thing, but there should still be sufficient interest considering how much weight things like hitting streaks and walk-off bombs carry with many a GM. Unfortunately, Ned Collettidesires to sign Ethier long-term, a truly scary proposition that frightens me when the subject in question is a guy heading into his age 30 season who can’t hit southpaws, is a range-lacking dud with the glove, and has dealt with multiple ailments the last couple of campaigns.

A long-term extension for Ethier would be extremely short-sighted on the Dodgers part. Ethier already makes an inordinate amount of money for the actual production he provides, and in a contract year his value could end up being even higher if he goes all Adrian Beltre on us (minus the consistently excellent defense Beltre provided). A 30-game hit streak, a handful of walk-off hits two years ago, and a gift Gold Glove – accompanied by the fact that there are enough mediocre GMs out there – should yield a good haul on the open market, and that’s a trade the Dodgers must jump on.